9 Stereotypes About Canadians We're Tired Of Hearing

The Huffington Post Canada

Posted:
09/16/2014 1:47 pm EDT
Updated:
09/17/2014 9:59 am EDT

Actor Seth Rogen poses for a photo in the NHL hockey suite while watching the United States take on Canada at Canada Hockey Place on February 21, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for NHL) | Christian Petersen via Getty Images

O Canada! It's a land of snow and sleet, where sunshine only breaks through on days when Justin Bieber plays a concert.

Well ... not exactly.

Canadians are well-used to hearing what other countries believe to be true about our citizens, and while we're happy to take the good (why yes, we are that polite!), we've had just enough of the plain old incorrect. So now, if you don't mind, here are some serious untruths about Canada we've been hearing for far too long.

We Live In Perpetual Winter

You don't really believe that, do you? Despite the horrific ice storms and the snowstorms in September, we have a wide range of weather across the country. Heck, on the day of that snowstorm in Calgary, it was 20°C (that's 68°F) in Vancouver, a mere 971 kilometres away.

Let's put this to rest once and for all. The way in which Canadians say "about" comes from our British ancestors, and it's actually way closer to "aboat" than "aboot." According to an interview with linguist Charles Boberg in the Ottawa Citizen, this sound is known as "Canadian raising," and happens when the "ou" comes before sounds that have no vocal cord vibration (or "voiceless" sounds), like "t" in out.

True, most things relating to medical doctors are covered by our universal health care (like check-ups, operations and the like). But there is plenty that isn't covered, like dentistry, medication and alternative medicine (so chiropractors, acupuncture and naturopathy visits come from out of pocket).

If you're visiting anywhere west (or generally, east) of Quebec in Canada, you really don't need to worry about boning up on your high school French. While the country is technically bilingual, most people speak English as their first language outside of that province. Canadians come from all over, and it's estimated that approximately 200 languages are spoken in the country. In fact, according to the most recent census statistics, it might be more useful to speak Punjabi in many of Canada's major cities.

We Were All Born With Skates On

While it's true that more than half of all the players in the NHL are Canadian, we didn't all spend our childhoods shivering in hockey arenas. First of all, hockey is an expensive sport to get in on, and as we've mentioned, we're not all rolling in cash. Secondly, there are plenty of other ways to entertain yourself outside in the winter — curling, anyone? (No, seriously, we love curling.)

We Love Justin Bieber/Barenaked Ladies/Celine Dion/Rush

ASSOCIATED PRESS

If you don't particularly enjoy any of these artists, imagine how we feel: thanks to something called the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, radio and TV stations must play a certain percentage of content created by Canadians. So you know what that means? If Alanis has a hit, You. Hear. It. Every. Hour.

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Things You Can Only Buy in Canada

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If you ever see these four stripes on clothing or home decor, you can be sure it's from The Bay, Canada's department store. This Bay blanket is just one of the iconic pieces from this line.

Ruffles All Dressed potato chips are delicious explosions of flavour, and only sold in Canada.

Ontarians like their milk in bags. Don't judge.

Beavertails -- deep-fried dough with sweet toppings like chocolate spread, bananas, and cinnamon. In recent years, Beavertails has expanded to the Middle East with plans to expand to Colorado and Tokyo. But for now it remains a mainly Canadian guilty pleasure.

How do you like your coffee? Canadians like it in the form of a chocolate bar (among other forms). This sweet treat is only available in Canada.

If you grew up in Canada, you had more than a few of these in your Halloween treat bag at the end of the night. These chocolate bars are much-loved by Canadians.

You might be able to buy products sold at Holt Renfrew at other department stores, but the Holt's experience is exclusively Canadian. The department store has a long history in Canada and locations throughout the country.

If you gotta have your KD, you'll need to be in Canada. Other countries sell the cheesy goodness, but by other names like "Cheesy Pasta," which just isn't the same.

You'll see more than a few of these mittens while walking down the street during winter in Canada. They're sold exclusively at The Bay, and are a staple for any proud Canadian.

Canadians love ketchup chips. And who wouldn't? These Lay's chips are only available in Canada and the U.S. is pretty upset.

Sure, you can buy maple syrup around the world, but this is REAL maple syrup, straight from a farm in Quebec.

Mountain Equipment Co-op, commonly known as MEC, sells sporting gear in Canada. One of its most popular features is the bike line.

Molson Canadian beer is available in other countries, but under the name of Molson Export, so it's clearly not the same thing. At all.

This cereal is a long-running tradition in many Western Canadian families. It was first created in 1924 in Manitoba.

You can buy rotisserie chicken in other countries, but it won't come with Swiss Chalet's famous chalet sauce. Canadians love this chicken so much, it has its own channel on TV.

Dare maple leaf cream cookies are a staple in many Canadian kitchen pantries.

Chapman's ice cream has a long history in Canada, as the country's largest independent ice cream manufacturer. You can only get this creamy goodness in Canada.